The invention relates generally to online educational courses. More specifically, the invention relates to a system and method for teaching foreign languages over a network.
Traditionally, the teaching of foreign languages has taken place in the school classroom where a teacher instructed students in their presence and measured their progress through written and oral examinations. With the advent of computer networking, the classroom has moved from the schools to the Internet, in particular, the World Wide Web (xe2x80x9cWebxe2x80x9d). Accordingly, students now can learn to speak and write in a foreign language online, i.e., over the network, by using a computer system to connect to servers and Web sites on the network that offer language-learning courses and software.
A difficulty confronting online language-learning courses, however, is that some students may not persist with self-taught instruction if left to learn the foreign language alone. Moreover, proficiency in a foreign language comes with much practice; an occasional visit to an online language course is likely to prove inadequate. Thus, a successful online language course should be able to entice students to return to the Web site to continue their language education.
Thus, there remains a need for a system and a method that encourage students to practice using a foreign language and that therefore overcome the aforementioned difficulties associated with learning a foreign language over the network.
One objective is to increase the lure of a Web site that offers interactive educational activities and holds the interest of students of foreign language. Another objective is to provide a learning activity that encourages students to learn a foreign language. Another objective is to provide a learning activity that exercises a student""s oral and written proficiencies in the foreign language. Yet another objective is to provide a teaching method that does not require a moderator or a teacher, which, in effect, enables students to teach each other.
The invention features a system and method for encouraging communication over a network between participants engaged in a learning activity. In one embodiment, participants are grouped in the learning activity before the activity begins. Multimedia information related to the learning activity may be displayed to at least one of the participants while that participant waits to be grouped in the learning activity. A communication channel is opened over a network between the participants. The network can be a LAN, WAN, Intranet, the Internet, or the World Wide Web. The communication channel conveys voice and/or text communications.
The participants are presented with a shared objective. Completing the objective requires cooperative interaction between the participants over the communication channel. The participants are provided information and material sufficient to accomplish the objective.
Content related to the objective is displayed to each participant of the learning activity. In one embodiment, the content displayed to one participant differs from the content displayed to another participant. In one embodiment, the objective is for the participants to exchange messages that induce at least one of the participants to take an action that reduces a difference in the content displayed to the participants. In another embodiment, the objective is to discuss the displayed content between participants to determine if the displayed content displayed is the same for all participants. In yet another embodiment, the objective is for one participant to exchange messages with another participant that guide that other participant towards creating displayed content that is substantially similar to the content displayed to the guiding participant.
Messages are exchanged in real-time between the participants over the communication channel to allow the participants to progress cooperatively towards completing the objective. Messages exchanged over the communication channel can guide the receiving participant to take actions that lead toward completing the objective. In one embodiment, the participants exchange messages that discuss the content displayed to each participant. A sequence of the learning activity can be controlled such that the participants are induced to interact with each other to complete the objective. Providing instructions, hints, clues, or responses can facilitate interaction between the participants and thereby assist in completing the objective. Also, learning activity-specific support can be provided in a dedicated portion of a display presented to each participant. For example, a vocabulary list of words related to the learning activity can be displayed to one or more of the participants as they communicate with each other.
Input is received from one of the participants of the learning activity representing an action taken in response to the messages exchanged over the communication channel. The content displayed to the participants based on the action taken by one of the participants is dynamically updated during the learning activity to depict progress towards the objective.
In one embodiment, the learning activity is to practice using a particular language (e.g., English). Generally, the particular language is at least a second language for each of the participants. Learning activities of other embodiments can target other types of disciplines, such as mathematics, sciences, etc., and practice the principles of the invention.
The profile of each participant can be obtained, including information related to at least one of areas of interest, ability level, and topic subject matter. The objective and displayed content are geared to the profiles of participants. In one embodiment, all of the participants are students. Consequently, students are able to control their own educational development without the aid of a teacher and/or moderator.
In another aspect, the invention features a system for encouraging communication over a network between participants engaged in a learning activity. The system comprises a plurality of client systems in communication with each other client system over the network using a communication channel. A server system, in communication with the plurality of client systems, presents the users of the client systems with an objective that requires cooperative interaction between the users to complete the objective and displays content related to the objective to each client system user. The client systems exchange messages in real-time over the communication channel to enable the client system users to progress cooperatively towards completing the objective. The server system dynamically updates the content displayed to the client system users based on an action taken by one of the client system users during the learning activity to depict progress towards the objective.
In another aspect, the invention features an article of manufacture having computer-readable program means embodied thereon for encouraging communication over a network between participants engaged in a learning activity. The article comprises computer-readable program means for opening a communication channel over a network between the participants, computer-readable program means for presenting an objective shared by the participants that requires cooperative interaction between the participants to complete the objective, and computer-readable program means for displaying content related to the objective to each participant of the learning activity. The article of manufacture also comprises computer-readable program means for exchanging messages in real-time between the participants over the communication channel to allow the participants to progress cooperatively towards completing the objective, computer-readable program means for receiving input from one of the participants of the learning activity representing an action taken in response to the messages exchanged over the communication channel, and computer-readable program means for dynamically updating the content displayed to the participants based on the action taken by one of the participants during the learning activity to depict progress towards the objective.